Lando Norris says Max Verstappen would be missed by fellow drivers and Formula 1 as a whole were the four-time world champion to walk away from the sport - but believes the Dutchman will "stay longer than people say".
Verstappen's future in F1 beyond this year is uncertain amid his criticism of the 2026 regulations and unhappiness with the way cars have hitherto had to be driven ahead of the introduction of tweaks aimed at improving aspects of the rules from next week's Miami Grand Prix.
World champion Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who both fought Verstappen for last year's world title, were asked for their thoughts on the Red Bull driver's future at a McLaren media event on Wednesday
Norris said: "Max has earned the right to go and do whatever he wants. He's won four world championships.
"And he's always been that guy, it's not just now. He's always been very open to say what he thinks, whether you agree or not or whether you should say it or shouldn't. He's himself and I think that's a very good way to live your life.
"It would be a shame for the sport, it will be a miss for the sport, if that does happen because he probably is one of the best drivers you'll see in Formula 1 ever.
"And I think it would be a shame for us because I think as much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, he's always good fun to race against and it's always cool to race against someone that's won four championships. You always feel like you want to race against the best in the world and he certainly is one of them so yeah it would be a loss for the sport."
Norris has also criticised the experience of driving the 2026 cars, which feature a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, but said: "I think it's relative for different people because when you see that the new guys who come in and this is their first year in Formula 1 everyone is like 'yeah these cars are sick!'
"For the guys who have driven last year's cars and for some of the previous ones, of course, we have something to compare against and it's all kind of relative for everyone
"But hopefully things get better and I was just told he said he wants to win fifth world championship at the minute, so I'm sure he'll stay longer than people say."
Piastri offered a similar assessment.
"It be would be a shame for the sport to lose Max, you know especially at this point in his career as well. I think it would be a big loss for the sport as a whole," said the Australian driver.
"For us as drivers, we want to race against the best and try and prove ourselves against the best and I think Max has shown his calibre in the last 10 years. I think especially the last five or six he's been the benchmark so, for everyone it would be a pretty big shame and obviously not a great look."
Focus on Verstappen's future in the sport was further heightened a fortnight ago when it was announced that his long-serving race engineer and confidant Gianpiero Lambiase would be joining McLaren in 2028 once his Red Bull contract ends.
Verstappen's own deal at Red Bull runs to the end of the 2028 season, although there are known to be performance clauses in it that would allow him the chance to exit before then were they not to be met.
Should he race on in F1, then Mercedes has long been considered as the most likely alternative destination for Verstappen were he to ever leave Red Bull, with talks between the two camps known to have taken place over each of the past two years.
But has McLaren's signing of Lambiase now made the Woking team a potential leading contender in the future too?
Asked that question by Your Site News, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown replied: "From McLaren's point of view, I couldn't be happier with Lando and Oscar.
"We have long-term agreements with them, and I think it's the greatest driver pairing on and off the track, so we have no intention of replacing any of our two superstars. Obviously if one were to go away, yeah, Max is a huge talent but I'm not anticipating that.
"Where might he go? If I had to bet, I'd say to Mercedes."
And on any prospect of Lambiase joining them before 2028, Brown said: "There's always a chance, but he has a contract and we're going to respect that.
"Obviously in conversations with Red Bull, they obviously need to I presume have a solution and then once and if that's in place, open to have a dialogue.
"But we're prepared to wait to '28 and that's what we'll do if that's what ends up happening."
Formula 1 returns on May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season's second Sprint weekend, live on Your Site F1.
